Technique How-To: Defending a Straight Stab

Hello and welcome to your online Krav Maga Lesson. Every month, you can look forward to a breakdown of critical krav maga techniques. This installment of our how-to program deals specifically with defending a straight stab. We’ll look at the best ways to protect yourself from an oncoming stab.

Defense from the Straight Stab -

Similar defenses can be made no matter which hand the attacker is stabbing with, but for the sake of example, we’ll assume that the attacker is stabbing with the right hand and that you, the defender, is standing in a right handed stance (i.e., right side is behind the left side). If an attacker lunges in with a stab, this defense will help protect you by redirecting the line of attack, and putting you in a position for effective counter attacks. While this defense is designed to be effective against stabbing attacks with edged weapons, you can also use it to defend against straight punches, eye gouges, or mid-level front kicks.

Put yourself in your regular fighting stance. You want your lead forearm to be perpendicular to the ground and your elbow bent at about a seventy-degree angle. As the attacker drives the edged weapon straight forward, your lead arm will parry the thrust.

The motion of the redirection should be completely parallel with the ground. The elbow and hand of your redirecting hand should move the exact same distance. This ensures a large defensive area so if the height of the attack changes the defense can be made anywhere from the pinky to the elbow. Ideally though, you will aim make impact with your wrist on the knife hand just below where the knife is being held. As impact is made, roll your hand so your palm ends up facing toward you. This will drive the attacking arm further away from your body. Your parry should be a relatively small motion.

After the redirection, maintain contact with the arm of your attacker and drive forward with your legs while giving a strong rear hand punch. By this point your attackers forearms should be wedged between his body and your defending forearm. Your legs should continue driving into the ground to provide continuous pressure on the attacker’s arm while driving power into the counterattack punch. The advantage of the strong counterattack is that it changes the mindset of the attacker from offensive to defensive.

Continue counterattacks until you have the opportunity to secure the weapon with both hands. With defending hand, continue to put pressure onto the attacker’s knife hand. With the punching hand, grab the hand in which the attacker is holding the knife. Your hand should land on the attacker’s hand so that your fingers and your attackers fingers are going in the same direction. Be careful that you grab the hand and not the knife!

Once you have two hands on the weapon you are in a much better position. To take the knife, drive your hand (that’s now on top of your attacker’s knife hand) forward in the direction of the attacker’s elbow, putting pressure on the wrist. As the attacker feels pressure on their wrist they will be forced to open their hand to relieve the pain. As they open their hand they lose the grip on the knife. From here, your hand slides over the opening of their hand and scapes the handle of the knife out of their open palm.

There you have it. This is one of the best Krav Maga techniques for fighting an attacker using a weapon. Try to stay on the opponent’s dead side and always have a counterattack ready.

Krav Maga Worldwide™ strives to be your number one resource for all things Krav Maga. Check back regularly to learn more krav maga techniques.

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